474
Adult Male Year First Identified: 2014 as an adult male Offspring Of: Not known at this time Darting Attempts: 474 was successfully darted by Ranger Michael Saxton in October 2017. There were no darting attempts, successful or unsuccessful, of 474 by Ranger Michael Saxton in 2016. 'Identification:' 474 is a medium-sized adult male bear with a dark, smooth looking face. His ears are light tipped and his coaat is dark brown with longer fur on his back and neck. 'Distinctive Behaviors:' 474 is another bear only seen at Brooks River in the fall. Like most bears in September and October, he tends to fish the cut bank and lower riverarea, although he typically doesn't fish the mouth of the river with many people present. Many bears like 474 are only seen in the fall and typically fish the cut bank area. These bears, when observed closely, are not usually tolerant of the close proximity of people. 'Life History:' '2014:' 474 was initially observed during official bear monitoring sessions in 2014 and classified at that time as an adult male. 'September 2014:' 474 PIC 2014.09.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 01.JPG|474 September 2014 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 'October 2014:' 474 PIC 2014.10.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 01.JPG|474 October 2014 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 474 PIC 2014.10.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 02.JPG|474 October 2014 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 '2015:' ''NOTE: '' In early to mid September 2015 when 474 was observed, he was initially misidentified as 45 Tatonka. With additional observations and comparisions to prior season photos, it was determined that the fall 2015 bear originally believed to be 45 Tatonka was actually 474. 2015.0?.??: 474 and 89 Backpack play fighting in this video by ytb53151: 'September 2015:' 474 PIC 2015.09.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 01.JPG|474 September 2015 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 474 PIC 2015.09.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 02.JPG|474 September 2015 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 474 PIC 2015.09.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 03.JPG|474 September 2015 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 474 PIC 2015.09.xx 2016 BoBr PG 71 04.JPG|474 September 2015 NPS photo 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 2015.09.01: Could this be 474 that was observed on September 1, 2015? Cam viewer snapshots: 2015.09.11: ''' '''08:25 - 08:30: 474 Explore Recorder video : 08:51 - 08:55: 474 Explore Recorder video : 2015.09.14 15:07 - 15:12: 474 Explore Recorder video : 2015.09.15 11:46 - 11:51: 474 and 89 Backpck play fight Explore Recorder video : '2016:' 474 was included in the 2016 Bears of Brooks River book on page 71: 474 INFO 2016 BoBr PG 71.JPG|474's page of the 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 474 INFO 2016 BoBr PG 71 INFO ONLY.JPG|474's page of the 2016 Bears of Brooks River book page 71 ~ info only 'August 2016:' 2016.08.24 07:5?: ''' Could this be 474 that has a confrontation with 747 in this video by Mickey Williams?: '''2016.08.28 17:30: Could this be 747 chasing 474 again in this video by Mickey Williams?: 2016.08.29 07:17: Could this be 474 in this video by Mickey Williams?: '2017:' 474 was included in the 2017 Bears of Brooks River book on page 74: 474 INFO 2017 BoBr PAGE 74.JPG|474's page of the 2017 Bears of Brooks River book page 74 474 INFO 2017 BoBr PAGE 74 INFO ONLY.JPG|474's page of the 2017 Bears of Brooks River book page 74 ~ info only 'September 2017:' Park visitor and cam viewer Melissa Freels observed and photographed 474 duing her September 2017 trip to Brooks Camp. 2017.09.06 Approximately 12:00: '474 and 151 Walker interaction, 32 Chunk moves from the jacuzzi to the area of 474 and 151 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): '''2017.09.09: ' 474 and 32 Chunk fight: September 9, 2017 play-by-play (video by Brenda D) with Ranger Becca that includes the fight between 474 and 32 Chunk: Explore highlights video of the fight between 474 and 32 Chunk: 474 and 32 Chunk fight September 9, 2017 video by angerbodha, includes views from Brooks Falls and Riffles live cams: 474 and 32 Chunk fight September 9, 2017 video of the view from the Riffles cam by Martina: At approximately 11:32 am Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA) captured this video of the confrontation between 32 Chunk and 474: At approximately 17:02 Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA) captured this video of the encounter between 474 and 32 Chunk: '''19:46: '''Mike Fitz comments about the fight between 474 and 32 Chunk: "These events provide another opportunity for us to contemplate competition and toughness of brown bears. The hierarchy on the river has shuffled again with more large adult males using the falls at the same time. I visited Brooks Camp earlier this week and was able to see 747, 474, and 32 Chunk. When I was at the river, these bears were usually separated in time and space. I didn’t see them commingle much at all, except for one interaction between 747 and 474 where 474 appeared to avoid the approach of 747. Based on that and videos of 32, 4747, and 747 from the bearcams, here’s the hierarchy as I currently see it: 747 > 474 > 32 68 is also very large and quite capable of maintaining access to fishing spots along with the largest adult males. However, I did not witness him interacting with 32, 474, or 747 so I am unsure where he sits in the hierarchy. It’s reasonable to assume, based on his size alone, that he ranks at least as high as 32. 474 “won” the fight with 32 from my perspective. 32 appeared to encroach on 474’s space, even lunging toward 474. Instead of yielding, 474 decided to physically engage 32 and he quickly gained the advantage, biting into 32’s shoulder hump. 474 then disengaged, slowly moving away to fish, while 32 sat still and watched him. Fights like this remind me of the toughness of bears. If a human were in 32’s place, he or she may have likely received life threatening injuries, but 32 Chunk just walked away. In fact, he seemed to show no outward signs of injury when he walked under the cam afterward. See LaniH's snapshot here CHUNK 32 PIC 2017.09.09 WALKING UNDER THE CAM AFTER FIGHT w 474.png|32 Chunk September 9, 2017 walking under the cam after fight with 474 snapshot by LaniH Intense fights among bears at Brooks Falls are relatively rare in early summer and even more so in late summer and fall when salmon can be scavenged throughout the lower half of Brooks River. This year silver (coho) salmon appear to be more abundant than average (nearly every salmon I saw bears catch at the falls was a silver salmon). Silver salmon are usually larger than the more abundant sockeye salmon and their run is later in the summer so right now they are probably richer in calories than the sockeyes who have spent weeks in fresh water without eating. Fishing at the falls now may give bears even more opportunities to get fat. As we’ve witnessed, fishing in close proximity to your competitors though is risky. 32 Chunk’s reign at the very top of the hierarchy was short lived. However, he remains a very large adult male, one of the fattest on the river. While he seem to have free reign in July and August, he now faces stiffer and more challenging competitors this fall." When Mike Fitz was asked: "How often during your time at Brooks did you see another adult male like Otis approach two equally large males that were fighting?" Mike's reply: "It's not a common sighting, but in the video of the fight Otis wasn't the only bear to approach. The other bears near the far pool--503, 68--approached the fight as well. I don't have a good explanation for this behavior. Perhaps it was curiosity or they sensed one or both bears could be vulnerable to getting displaced if they approached. I'm not sure." Cam viewer and park visitor, Cheri's Random Currents blog about the 474 and 32 Chunk fight , On March 9, 2018 Cheri also shared these September 2017 photos of 474 : Photo #1 and Photo #2 '''2017.09.10: Approximately 10:58: 747 confronts 474 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): Approximately 11:38: 480 Otis confronts 474 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): 2017.09.18 14:14: 32 Chunk confronts 474 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): 2017.09.22: '''474 and 32 Chunk video by Brenda D: '''2017.09.23: 474 video by Brenda D: 2017.09.28: 32 Chunk follows 474 down river video by Brenda D: 'October 2017:' In October 2017, Ranger Michael Saxton traveled to Brooks Camp to attempt additional darting of the bears of Brooks River. Ranger Saxton successfully darted 474 during this trip. 2017.10.03 11:15: 474 clears the falls video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): 2017.10.05 12:46: '474 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA): '2018: 'August 2018:' 2018.08.31: 910 spots 474 in the lower river area and limps off video by Birgitt Evans: '2019:' Adult Male 'September 2019:' 2019.09.14: Bonnie Hankins (aka NutsBoutBears) captured this photograph of 474 (p 12/17/19 15:39 ).: 474 PIC 2019.09.14 NUTSBOUTBEARS POSTED 2019.12.17 15.39.jpg|474 on September 14, 2019 photograph by Bonnie Hankins (aka NutsBoutBears) 'October 2019:' 2019.10.01: KCanada shared this snapshot of 474 (p 12/16/19 15:21 ).: 474 PIC 2019.10.01 KCANADA POSTED 2019.12.16 15.21.jpg|474 October 1, 2019 snapshot by KCanada 'Known Courting & Mating:' Add here 'Known Relatives:' There are no known relatives of 474 at this time. 'Darting Attempts:' '2016:' There were no darting attempts, successful or unsuccessful, by Ranger Michael Saxton in 2016. '2017:' 474 was successfully darted by Ranger Michael Saxton in October 2017, Category:Bear Book